Reality

ARTICLES ABOUT REALITY BY DATE - PAGE 2

I just returned from a tour of Symphony Woods and was appalled by the plans that the Inner Arbor Corp. has proposed. It includes an 800-foot "caterpillar. " This structure has been pitched to many municipalities across the country for their parks and all of them had the good sense to decline. Original and previously approved plan: "The central park will be a place for music, the arts and nature. It will be an inviting and beautiful gathering place that provides a respite, a breathing place for downtown.

When I read Susan Reimer 's column about Rachel Canning, the willful N.J. teen who's suing her parents for support and tuition, I'm delighted I never had children ( "Education is not optional," March 7). No doubt other childless adults feel the same. Whatever the finale to this ridiculous story may be, let me also point out the obvious: All those involved are very attractive, upper-middle class Americans, and also from New Jersey. Do you get my drift? I see is a TV reality show in the making.

One of The Sun's readers was very upset about hurting the Inner Harbor's reputation with the recent reporting of a dead body found floating there, the ninth in recent months ( "Sun gives the Inner Harbor a bad name ," March 6). Aren't newspapers supposed to print the facts? Should the article have tried to whitewash or soft pedal this shameful situation? Our "crown jewel" does not always gleam the way you would like it to no matter how much you try to polish it. Gertrude Stein said it best, "A rose is a rose is a rose.

Here's a number that ought to be memorized by every elected official in the state of Maryland: 485. That's how many people died in traffic collisions in 2011 in this state (the most recent year for which such statistics are available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). That's the equivalent of about 10 full motor coaches. Yet the number that's being discussed these days in the General Assembly is 70. That's how fast, in miles per hour, some believe motorists should be allowed to drive on certain state highways, and under the circumstances, it's more than a little surprising that raising the speed limit is even on the legislative agenda.

Wendy Davis, a Democratic state senator running to replace Rick Perry as governor of Texas, owes her political stardom to two things: a pair of pink sneakers and her unstinting support for a woman's right to terminate a late-term pregnancy in a substandard clinic. Yay Feminism! Last year, Davis led an 11-hour filibuster -- that's where the sneakers came in handy -- to block legislation that would ban abortion after 20 weeks and require abortion clinics to meet the same standards that hospital-style surgical centers do. This was all going on against the backdrop of the sensational Kermit Gosnell case in Pennsylvania.

It's time for a reality check. The rollout of the Affordable Care Act and subsequent Maryland Health Connection website is still a woeful disaster. And despite recent assurances by state officials that the exchange is "functional for most citizens," the reality is that the system is not fixed - and far worse is the attitude of the administration. My criticism of the events since the Oct. 1 rollout will surely be labeled as just more opposition doom and gloom. Well, rest assured, it is anything but that.

The Baltimore-area's tattoo artistry is about to get a big showcase. Owner/artist Halo, 30, of the Black Lotus Tattoo Gallery in Severn, is set to compete on Season 4 of Spike's reality competition show "Ink Master. " He's one of 17 tattoo artists hoping to win $100,000. According to a press release, "Ink Master" challenges "focus on different tattooing techniques, such as shading, line and proportion, and styles including photorealism, Tribal, American traditional, and pin-up. Not only will contestants face a tough panel made up of Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction)

Holy Frijoles in Hampden and Frederick's on Fleet in Canton are the subjects of a cable TV show being taped in Baltimore this week. The show, being developed for the TruTv network, appears to be a variation of "Wife Swap," the reality show in which two unalike families "swap" mothers. In this show, it's the owners of unalike establishments who take up temporary residence at each other's bar. That meant Holy Frijoles owner Geoffrey Danek took his laid-back management style to Frederick's on Fleet for three nights of filming, while Frederick's part-owner Jim Saufley, a part-time boxing coach, brought his stricter style to Hampden.

In the Maryland General Assembly, newly-elected lawmakers inevitably have one experience in common. Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, rural or urban, it doesn't matter. When they arrive at the State House, they soon discover that the management of government and the issues they face are a lot more complicated than what they'd envisioned on the campaign trail. That's not to suggest first-term legislators are ill-informed or uneducated. Often, they are well suited for the job - better than their predecessors in many cases.

So rednecks need to be politically correct now? Wait, before the National Association of Rednecked Persons attacks me, let me be clear that I don't mean "redneck" as an insult. Indeed, Redneck Pride has been on the rise ever since Jeff Foxworthy got rich informing people they "might be a redneck. " (Some clues: if your school fight song was "Dueling Banjos;" if you've ever raked leaves in your kitchen; if your boat hasn't left your driveway for 15 years; if birds are attracted to your beard, etc.)